Arizona at Indianapolis

Colts close regular season with victory for grieving coach

CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

Jan. 1, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Dungy tried to do things his normal way Sunday.

But when Mike Doss handed him the ball
with 13 seconds left, even the Indianapolis Colts
coach couldn't resist the temptation to respond. In a rare emotional
outburst, he grabbed the ball, raised it in his right hand and pumped it
toward the crowd, which roared in approval.

Who could blame him?

Five days after burying his oldest son, Dungy watched his defense get
the goal-line stand it needed -- thanks to a replay reversal -- in the
final seconds to give the Colts a 17-13 victory over Arizona.

"I know those guys wanted to win the game for me and wanted to do it for
a lot of reasons," Dungy said. "They came up with the effort to do it.
It was special."

Indy (14-2) set a franchise record for victories and avoided its first
three-game losing streak since midway through the 2002 season.

The stats, however, paled in comparison to Dungy's perseverance during a
time when football understandably became secondary.

After a tortuous 10 days in which he learned his son died of an apparent
suicide and then gave a moving eulogy at Tuesday's funeral, Dungy made a
surprise return to practice Thursday.

On Sunday, many of the fans at an otherwise meaningless game -- Indy had
already clinched the AFC's top seed and Arizona (5-11) was already
eliminated from the playoffs -- came to show their support for Dungy.

Before the game, the Colts had a moment of silence in honor of
18-year-old James Dungy, who was found unresponsive Dec. 22 in his
Tampa-area apartment. The Colts coach spent pregame warmups shaking
hands and walking around the field with his other teenage son, Eric, who
retrieved kicking tees during the game.

When Dungy walked onto the field, he received a standing ovation and
waved to the crowd. For much of the game, he was his usual self -- hands
folded, pacing stoically along the sideline.

And then, with a little help from official Ron Winter, the Colts found a
way to give Dungy a brief respite by stopping the Cardinals three times
from the Colts 2 in the game's final two minutes.

"It made me feel good because we really try and play hard for coach
Dungy. Everyone loves him," said defensive tackle Larry
Tripplett.

Josh McCown, possibly in his final game as a Cardinal,
completed 31 of 42 passes for 297 yards and one touchdown. But he
couldn't get in on fourth-and-goal from the Indy 1 in the final minute.
Officials ruled it a touchdown, then reversed the call, changing it to a
fumble that backup linebacker Rob Morris
recovered to seal the game.

Arizona coach Dennis Green, a longtime friend of Dungy's, said the
reversal was the right call and even McCown seemed content with it given
the circumstances.

"I thought I pushed in and I crossed," McCown said. "I thought where the
ball was, in my arm, it was very minute. After all the Dungys and all
the people in the Colts organization have gone through, it's not
something I'm very bitter about at all."

Anquan Boldin caught eight passes and Larry
Fitzgerald six to each top 100 receptions and become the first
duo of 100-reception receivers on the same team since Rod Smith and Ed
McCaffrey on the 2000 Denver Broncos. The 1995 Detroit Lions are the
only other team to achieve that feat, with Herman Moore and Brett
Perriman.

Neil Rackers also kicked two field goals to break the NFL
single-season record with 40. Miami's Olindo Mare set the previous
record (39) in 1999. St. Louis' Jeff Wilkins tied it in 2003.

All the Cardinals could manage were Rackers' two field goals, McCown's
25-yard TD pass to Fitzgerald and some heartfelt empathy for Dungy.

"Everybody feels the support for Tony Dungy is clear-cut. It's clear-cut
in Indianapolis, it's clear-cut throughout the National Football
League," Green said. "He's a very optimistic, a very faith-based man in
how he goes about living his life."

Notes

Vanderjagt's five points gave him 995 in his career.

Despite playing one series, Manning gets credit for the victory and
has now beaten every NFL team except Carolina.

Boldin and Fitzgerald each topped 1,400 yards.

The Cardinals set a franchise record with 4,450 yards passing this
season.

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